Snow guards are affixed to metal panel roofs such as standing seam roofs to prevent snow and ice from sliding off the roof. With the increased use of sheet metal panels in building construction, there has been an increased need to address ways in which various snow guards are interconnected or joined to a metal panel surface. In various climates, it may be desirable to position a snow retention device on a metal roof to control/inhibit/impede the movement of snow and/or ice down the pitch of the roof.
In some regions, metal roofs are designed to shed snow, therefore limiting excessive snow from building up and potentially damaging or collapsing the structure. However, in most situations sliding snow and/or ice from metal roofs can be hazardous to people, the surrounding landscape, property, and building components. Therefore, steps must be taken to control the sliding snow. For example, snow or ice sliding from a roof above an entryway may injure a passersby. Similarly, falling snow or ice can do damage to landscape features, such as shrubs, and property or building components, including automobiles or lower roofing portions resulting in possible liability to a building owner. In addition, sliding snow or ice can shear off antennas, gutters or other components attached to a building roof or wall, thereby potentially causing a leak. The problem of sliding snow or ice is particularly experienced in connection with metal roofs, including raised seam roofs, (e.g., standing seam) where there is relatively little friction between the roof and the snow or ice.
Numerous snow guard devices have been developed and used in the prior art. However, there are a number of problems generally associated with some prior known and developed snow guard devices. For example, many of the prior art devices are attached to roof by a screw, nail, or other fastener which pierces the roofing surface. Such piercing of the roof can lead to undesirable leakage due to inadequate sealing or shearing of the fastener by the forces exerted thereon by sliding snow and/or ice. Alternate methods for attachment of snow guard devices to roofs such as adhesive bonding may fail to provide secure attachment and/or may be difficult to install on a sloped surface, particularly where the device is applied to a smooth non-porous roofing material such as metal. Other known snow guard systems include a plurality of mounting blocks attached to multiple raised seams and linearly aligned such that a continuous snow rail can be connected to the plurality of mounting blocks. The continuous snow rail in such systems spans across the tops of multiple raised seams and therefore do not make contact with snow depths less than the height of a raised seam. In addition, many snow guard devices may be unsightly and not visually attractive to some individuals.